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2001 |
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or Do the little statues count in the city of lights? |
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The French they are a funny race, so they pay attention to Oscars
By KAREN SHARPE
of TheColumnists.com
I HATE reading an American newspaper during Oscar season. My hands turn blacker than usual from all the thick-inked ads filling page after page for films nominated in every category. Then there is the saturation of television and radio airtime with endless streams of trivia about each nominee and film. Why, it's enough to make a person move to Paris, which I did, though not necessarily for that reason.
So how about the Academy Awards here? Do the French, a highly critical group, take them seriously? Or do they do that very Gallic thing of shrugging their shoulders and rolling their eyes and pouting their lips at the same time they give a little puff of air when asked the question, as if to suggest they don't even need to reply? (Trying to fit in here, I've actually been working on that particular body language, but find it a bit difficult coordinating all four movements at once).
Well, the answer is oui and non, which in itself is a very French response (I'm learning).
First thing to get straight, per Loic Magneron, who works in international sales at Mercure Distribution, is that most French would not recognize the term Academy Awards, but do know Oscar. And yes, he says, they do take les Oscars seriously, seeing them as an "honorific award, as an indication of the quality of a film."
But the French also know, says Ed Flaherty, an American filmmaker who has lived and worked in France for some 26 years, "that the best actress doesn't always win--that the studios invest heavily in promoting their films, and also it's the people in the industry who are voting for the awards."
Of course, says Magneron, "Les Oscars have an impact médiatique considérable." Just like les Américains, the French are more likely to see a film that has won an Oscar, and the distribution companies are more likely to extend engagements and re-release films that have gotten the Academy's imprimatur.
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So how does this play out on the streets of Paris? An exhaustive survey of movie theaters and street kiosques and metro stations I happened to be passing anyway revealed some relevant information. For example, a marquee for "Chocolat" mentioned none of the film's five nominations, not even the one for la patrie's very own Juliette Binoche. At another theater where "Traffic" was showing, tastefully tacked to the top of a billboard was a discreet "5 Nominations aux Oscars."
A kiosque poster for the soon-to-be-released (here, that is) "Quills" did mention the nominations, but perhaps that's because the posters just went up and there was time to print the honors on them. Metro stations (where ads seem to change weekly) are currently displaying posters for such films as "Les Morsures de l'Aube" (Bites at Dawn, which looks like a vampire film), "Mademoiselle," and "l'Art Délicate de la Séduction," none of them in the Oscar running, plus "Requiem for a Dream," which is a contender.
In my limited search I couldn't find any posters for "Le Gout des Autres" (The Taste of Others), a nominee from France in the Foreign Film category, but that's probably because that film has been out here for some time and is not playing as widely as a first-run film. That situation will undoubtedly change, however, if the film wins because, as already noted, the French are not averse (double negative, very French) to capitalizing on a bit of fame.
How then does Oscar advertising fit into the scheme of advertising here? Not a whole lot. Film advertising in general appears quite minimalist, certainly in comparison to the gross excesses on the other side of the pond, and the Academy Awards seem to have made no difference. That is to say I saw no film advertising in the newspapers and none on TV. Apparently certain laws prevent film advertising (along with cigarette and alcohol advertising) à la television in this law-laden land where even clothing sales are carefully regulated (they can be held two times a year, and only certain sorts of items can be put on sale).
Low-key advertising may also have something to do with the fact that les budgets for le marketing (yes, those words are part of the new French lexicon) are considerably less than that lavished in the United States, even without taking into consideration favorable exchange rates.
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It may also be because the French seem to feel that quality speaks for itself, which belief curiously carries over to film trailers. There are relatively few bandes annonces for upcoming films, and those that are shown, quite surprisingly, have no narration. This leaves it up to audiences to imagine the film's focus as they eat les eskimos purchased from a vendor who cruises the aisles (but who no longer switches from her role of usher, hand slightly proffered for the expected pourboire).
But make no mistake-the French are quite serious about their film viewing (even though they still revere Jerry Lewis), and depend upon weekly listings magazines to guide them through the 300-some films that play weekly in Paris alone. Films are cross-referenced several ways in these magazines, and include considerable information about each one (the director, for example, is always noted first in any list anywhere for a film). I did find Oscars mentioned in two ads (for "Traffic" and "Chocolat") in these magazines, as well as mentions of other awards (Cannes, Spain, Berlin, Venice) for other films. All the ads here were also understated. Of course that may have something to do with the format (TV-Guide-size) of these petits magazines.
So what do the French feel about Juliette Binoche's and "Chocolat's" nominations? "The French are thrilled when a French person wins," says Larry Shore, an American screenwriter who has lived in France for 15 years. I can well understand that. The French, after all, are known for their chauvinism (a word, incidentally, that comes from the French-Monsieur Nicolas Chauvin was an excessively devoted follower of Napoleon).
Says Magneron, "The French are very proud that 'Chocolat' was nominated. This film reflects French production values and French savoir faire, and it attests to the quality of French films and their impact outside France."
OK, now what will the French be doing on Oscar Sunday? Generally sleeping, as France is 9 hours ahead of California. Still, a number will watch tout le tremblement (the whole shebang) on Canal +, which is sort of the HBO equivalent (you pay for it, it shows first-run movies, and it invests in films, "Titanic" being one it put francs behind). Those of us without Canal + will have to be satisfied with seeing short clips on news programs the next day, and reading small articles, usually sans photos, listing the winners.
"The French just want to see who the winners are," says Shore. "They don't care how they got the stamp. They don't care about the ceremony."
Well how come, then, the Cannes Film Festival gets covered exhaustively on television here during the two weeks in May that it takes place? A few reasons come to mind. That chauvinism thing again, for one. Plus it's relatively inexpensive to film Cannes, and there's a good bit of airtime to fill in France.
So then why do the French
consider the Oscar awards more prestigious than the Cannes awards?
French love of paradox, I guess.
©
2001 by Karen Sharpe.
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